


shi taab’echaaj’la

by stardustgirl



Series: Rebels Oneshots [7]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Ending to s03e16 Legacy of Mandalore, Angst, Heavy Angst, I know I did writing it, So much angst, Tristan's a good brother, You might cry, and so is Ezra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 16:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16179029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stardustgirl/pseuds/stardustgirl
Summary: She tried to laugh but choked on the sound of it.  The irony of it all—she had spent years trying to find new colors, and now she would be returning to all the ones she’d been forced to leave behind.|~~~|An alternate ending to "Legacy of Mandalore."





	1. and first

**Author's Note:**

> I hope the angst train will be fun for you guys....

Another shot, and her mother and Tristan and Kanan and Ezra and _everyone_ letting out a yell.

She stiffened.

Silence.

The blaster shot was still echoing in her ears.

She opened her mouth slightly, her knees buckling.

Her mother let out a strangled cry, shooting again.

She heard his body hit the ice.

She sank to her knees, barely acknowledging just how _hard_ the ice was as her breathing started to come in short gasps instead of the more even breaths she was used to.

The cold seeping into her bones was a small nuisance, almost nothing compared to the pain in her knees from hitting the ice.

Her hands fell next.

She dropped Ezra’s lightsaber but somehow managed to keep a grip on the darksaber as she folded, now on hands and knees.  She vaguely realized she was shaking, and barely from the cold.

She heard voices.  She didn’t bother trying to make out what they were saying.

Ezra was by her suddenly, trying to help her up and...yelling something, maybe?

The patterns of the snow on the ice were so beautiful….

Fitting it would be here, on Krownest.

She had never expected it to come from her own people.

No, Gar Saxon was an _aruetii_ , _had been_ an _aruetii_.  Not one of her own.  She thought he was dead now, but turning to check required strength she no longer had.

She weakly pushed Ezra away as he tried to help her stand as he shouted for someone.

The snow was beginning to blur, and her breathing was getting shorter and raspier.

Her hair swept in front of her eyes, and she dimly wished she had dyed it a different color, one that would go better with her clan’s colors—she would be wearing them for a long time.

She tried to laugh but choked on the sound of it.  The irony of it all—she had spent years trying to find new colors, and now she would be returning to all the ones she’d been forced to leave behind.

Someone else was beside her.  Tristan, maybe. He was murmuring something to Ezra.

Kanan and her mother were here now, too.  If only Hera...and Zeb, who would tell Zeb?  And Chopper, as much as she hated that droid….She would miss him….

She wouldn’t be gone, though.  She would just be _shi taab’echaaj’la._

Kanan was beside her, stroking her hair gently and turning to speak to someone.  She felt a strong sense of calm from him. The Force, maybe. And the pain was leaving; someone else was taking it, trying to ease her suffering—not that it hurt that much now...Ezra?  For the first time, she didn’t know.

Her mother was there.  Finally. After years….

She tried to choke out Hera’s name, wanting her to know- to know how much she loved her.  A wave of understanding filled her, from Kanan maybe. She barely made out his lips forming words she no longer understood.

_La cuyir at Suum ca’nara…._

Strong arms helped her lean back, cradling her.  Tristan?

She kept a weak grip on the darksaber as she stared at the sky, watching the snow drift down gently.

It would have made for a beautiful painting.


	2. the aftermath.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanan and Ezra return to Chopper Base to break the news of the events on Krownest.

Kanan stepped off the ramp of the ship, walking silently into the base.

“Kanan!”

He paused, sensing Hera running up to him.

Ezra was just now coming off the ship.

“Kanan, where’s Sabine?”

He remained silent, trying to figure out how best to break it to her.  He’d had the whole of hyperspace to think through it, and yet he still hadn’t come up with anything.

“She’s gone, Hera.”

He felt Hera turn away from him to respond to Ezra.

“Gone?  Gone where?”

She didn’t understand….

“She’s-”

“Dead,” Kanan finished, his voice hollow and blunt.

He heard her sharp intake of breath, imagined her putting a hand to her mouth.

“Kanan….How?”

“Gar Saxon.  The man who killed the Protectors.”

Ezra elaborated.  “They dueled, and she beat him.  She beat him, and he shot her in the back after!  She could’ve  _ killed _ him, but she didn’t, and—”

“Ezra, calm down,” Kanan said softly.

“Calm down?!  What do you mean, calm down?!  Sabine is  _ dead,  _ Kanan!  ‘Calming down’ won’t help her now!”

Zeb was coming, followed by a droid.  Chopper, most likely.

“Where’s Sabine?” Zeb asked, probably taking in the sight of a furious Ezra, then at a most-likely-tearful Hera.

“She’s  _ gone, _ Zeb,” Ezra snapped before promptly storming off.

“Hera, I know it’ll be hard, but could you do something for me?”

“Yes, love?”

“Ezra...he’s taken it hard.  I just don’t want him to go back to how he was- how he was after Malachor.”

“Then you need to be there for him, too.”

Her voice was shaky.

She was trying not to cry.

Zeb spoke up.  “I’ll go check on the kid,” he said, unusually quiet.  He left, and Kanan heard Chopper rolling after him, warbling something about how he was going to the  _ Ghost. _

Kanan and Hera were alone.

“Kanan—”

“I know.”  There was another moment of silence.  And then, quieter, “I know.”

“What about the rest of us?  What if- what if Ezra’s next?  Or you? Or Zeb? Or Chopper? I can’t lose any of you.”

He let a few more moments pass before speaking.

“If it helps to know, she was at peace, in the end.  Ezra helped with the pain, I think.”

“The Force?”   
“Yeah.”  He fell silent, focusing on her breathing.  She was still here. Still here….

“Did she- did she say anything?”

“She wanted me to tell you that she wished you were there with her.  She loved you, Hera. you gave her what her own mother never could. A family that loved her.”

“No, Kanan.   _ We _ gave her a family that loved her.”

He nodded in agreement, lapsing into silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and yes I cried writing that.
> 
> Also, the title translates to "merely marching far away" in Mando'a. Cry some more.


End file.
